Fallen Hero
by JoshuaGonxalex
Summary: A short insight into what might happen, directly after the fall of both Gannondorf and Link.


"Die, Legendary Hero of Courage!" The Beast roared, mindless, aside from the hatred which infused it. Gannon, had lost his mind, and his body, but his hatred and his power were so horrifically unending that his sheer hatred of Link, the hero who bore the symbol of Courage, one of the three attributes which enabled the intelligent species to change the world, that Gannon manifested a new form, purely to destroy Link. The sound that followed changed the world. It was a roar of unending, undying hatred, which would be reborn. And it was the sound of death, as even hero's aren't immune to defeat.

First, the beast fell. Second, the hero slumped to the ground, as Zelda noticed the wound which would rip apart Link's spirit, sending it back to Paradise, where it would wait, first for Zelda's immortal soul, than for the next time Link was needed, to be reborn, to save Zelda, to safeguard all of light from Gannondorf's darkness. The battle had ended. Gannondorf had been slain. But as the smoke settled, and the castle began to rise up out of the smoke it was obvious that though the evil had been defeated it had not been without a price. There on the field, next to the corpse of the beast laid a single bit of his outfit, not the outfit of the beast but of the hero, the hero's cap.

The sword laid embedded in the head of the beast, the final blow which had sealed away the darkness which had come so close to overwhelming the entire planet. And as Zelda watched her castle rise out of the ground, rebuilding itself, and even as a single rainbow spread out over Hyrule Castle Town, Zelda fell to her knee's and wept.

That night was odd. Dead. The darkness had been defeated, but even they wept. Monsters from all over crawled, walked, flew, slithered, to the corpse of the beast. In their own way they had respected him. Had gone to visit him. Say their farewells. The guards originally tried to stop them, but Zelda asked that they be let through. They were harmless, leader-less and weakened, they were in no condition to fight. The night itself was also weird. The world was split. Half and half. Half covered in a nearly oppressive light, the other covered in absolute darkness.

It would take days for the six sages to appear, and help Zelda plan the funeral. Upon Saria's suggestion they choose to bury the young man's body next to the now newly growing "Great" Deku tree. Navi had fallen to silence, for the first time, and none of them had dared to attempt to comfort the fairy, because she was closest to Link, she had been wide awake when he spent those seven years sleeping in the temple of time. She alone had been there from the very beginning of his journey. And thus, no one could protest when the Fairy flew into the sky, attempting to catch the hero's spirit as it ascended into the heavens. And that was why Zelda, caught her and laid her on the chest of the hero of time, when she fell, having joined her friend.

Not even Saria could match the closeness that the blue fairy felt for Link, the love and adoration for the hero of time. The fairy refused to leave Link's side, staying in the temple of time to watch that the young man had truly departed, his destiny achieved but his life cut short. The only sounds that escaped from her small form were the occasional sob's and they only brought down the mood of the crowd.

When the funeral finally arrived, a large crowd had arrived around the Kokiri forest, for the first time any and everyone was allowed into the forest, and the line to witness the funeral was large, the crowd filling the entrances into the forest, as Link had been admired by many. Everyone from the Gerudo warriors, to the Goron chief Darunia, and the Zora princess Ruto, to even the Fairies and Deku people. The funeral itself was watched over by the Six Sages, all of which were to speak at the end of the ceremony. Zelda and Ruto stood at the front of this crowd, both silent, tears occasionally streaming down the faces of the two women, rivals in that they had both adored Link, now sisters in sorrow.

Together they nodded at each person who came to them to offer their condolences. It was as if the two were one person. The occasional notable person came to the sages to offer truer words of sorrow, such as Mido appearing through the crowd and hugging Saria, whispering that he was truly sorry for her loss, and that he himself would mourn for a long time about the fairyless boy. That was the first time Saria had smiled since she appeared alongside the other sages. "Link wouldn't want you calling him that…" She said, as a slight smile teased her lips, fighting with the hollow feeling she had in her chest with Link gone.

When the sages began to speak it was Darunia who spoke first. The patriarch began his short speech by saying "When the battle for Hyrule was over, a great villain was slain. And I lost a brother. When Link died, I felt a piece of my heart die alongside him. When the boy first appeared to me, he was but a child… and despite his knowledge of the Lullaby, I brushed him off as a boy and made him leave. But as a man, he refused to leave and played me a song which brought joy back to my heart, reminding me that the true measure of a hero is not their age, but their values, their actions. I put him to the test, which should have been nearly impossible and was closer to a death sentence. Yet he cleared the task that I had given him and earned my respect and love. I named him my brother… my son is named after Link. And when the man reappeared following the arrival of darkness, he entered the fire temple and faced down a creature from the shadows of Goron history, and defeated it. Link taught me that age is not a measure of worth. But that actions determine the difference between men and boys. And his death will cast a shadow over this land that will never truly be healed…" And with that the great chief of the Goron's took a step down.

Next the Gerudo leader, Nabooru appeared, her body fully clad for once, in garments of black, as she began to speak. "Unlike the other's… Link as a child appeared only for a moment to me. He assisted me in obtaining an item with which I had planned to fight against Gannondorf's machinations. I failed. I was captured shortly after obtaining the item I had worked so hard to obtain. But Link had never forgotten me. Nor had he given up. Perhaps through me he realized that not all of the Gerudo women were evil. I had made him a promise as a child… and after he rescued me from the clutches of those who used me I joked that I would have kept my promise had I known that he would be so handsome… now I regret not keeping that promise. But his memory will be honored. In my own way, I respected him even as a kid. As an adult he turned out to be the leader my people deserved, and I wish I could have gotten him to stay with the Gerudo's. Even if it had been after Gannondorf's demise." The sage then stepped down and bowed her head in silence.

Next was the Princess Ruto. When she had seen his corpse, the queen of the Zura's. "Link… I can't believe you…" She said as she began her speech. "You know… he saved my life. Literally. He went into the belly of the beast… well fish, and carried me out. And when we stepped out, I knew I had found the love of my life." She said blushing even as tears streamed down her face, the sparkle of the tears making her face appear almost clear. "He saved me and stole my heart… If I could, I'd go back and be there at the battle, let Gannon kill me instead." She confessed, her eyes red from crying as she bowed her head, unable to talk anymore.


End file.
